What happens when a mature woman falls victim to the allure of the modern Asian Ball Jointed Doll? Will the devious doll divas succeed in separating balljointedwoman from her hard earned cash? Which diva will earn herself a new fashion this week? Stay tuned for the latest installment of As the Resin World Turns.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Millie Has Arrived!

Today Resin Corner welcomed its first Kaye Wiggs cutie. I so wanted MSD-sized Annabella when she was introduced, but found her price prohibitive. I resigned myself to not having her. Then, in July of this year, when she was offered in a 29 cm size as Millie, I knew wild horses could not stop me from buying her.

I tried not to think too much about her during the ensuing months. Resin BJDs take time. The customer is not buying a doll off the shelf, but putting in an order for a doll to be hand-crafted from start to finish. The resin must be poured into a mold, cured, then removed from the mold and assembled. Some artisans sand the seams left from the molding process; others don't. Millie's seams were sanded so that she is perfectly smooth. After the assembly comes the face painting, or face-up. It's a lengthy process, and when several hundred dolls are ordered in the same narrow window of time, it means that all of them will be crafted before any are shipped. BJD collectors become very skilled at waiting.

In the last few weeks, as her delivery time neared, I spent more and more time online at the Resin Cafe, a joint Kaye Wiggs-Jpopdolls forum. (Sign on at the Jpopdolls website.) Millie was offered in both tan and normal resin. The tan dolls shipped first, and I had to endure seeing photos of the adorable dolls and reading the ecstatic reviews from their new owners without having my own doll in hand.

Then the normal resin dolls started shipping. I waited. I knew what was holding up my order. I had ordered the red wig that she was shown wearing in the pre-production photos, and I had read that the wigs were delayed. Finally I got a shipping notice. At first I couldn't tell if it was for the wig or the doll. I had a sneaking suspicion it was for the wig only. Sure enough, a day later I received a second shipping notice. This time it was Millie. She would take two-to-three days via Priority Mail. There was a federal holiday during that time when Post Offices were closed. I wondered if it would affect a package already in transit. Apparently not, because on Friday when I got home from work, there was a notice from my mail carrier that she had attempted delivery and the package would be available for pick-up next day at my local Post Office.

So Millie is home at last. And I must say she is every bit as cute as her photos promised. Maybe cuter! She has gray glass eyes, a button nose, and very faint freckles across the bridge of her nose. I might take a watercolor pencil and make them more visible. Her eyebrows give her a vaguely worried look. She has a cute little mouth, fat little cheeks, ears that stick out -- so much personality in such a small package. I love her knees. When she sits, there is no elastic showing. She holds a pose well and balances on her feet without a stand.

Ihaven't sewn anything for her yet. I wanted to get her home first and see how the clothes for my Little Fees fit her. Her body is slimmer than theirs, and she is taller. She is also a bit taller than my Bambicrony Toto. Her feet are slimmer. I found some sweet little ballet flats online, made by Boneka. They are a perfect fit without socks. Once I put socks on her, she will need a slightly longer, wider shoe. I look at the shoes my other small dolls wear. They are clodhoppers by comparison. I guess we'll have to play this one by ear.

Ihave bought three patterns for her. I would have started sewing today if we hadn't spent so much time inserting eyes and trying on clothes and wigs. She has a different head shape than the Little Fees. The brown pageboy wig from LeekeWorld that didn't fit anyone else but Rosette Marguerite fits Millie perfectly. It will be interesting dressing and styling this one. Something tells me I had better make a lot of clothes, because the current order period is for Lillie and Tillie, two other tiny Kaye Wiggs darlings. Lillie has the same face sculpt as Millie but comes in cream resin and has elf ears. Normally I don't go for elf ears, but she is an exception. Tillie comes in a tan resin -- from the photos I think it is a light tan rather than a dark -- and has the same face sculpt as MSD-sized Nyssa. There is no way that I can afford both. It looks like it's going to be Lillie. Delivery is estimated as next March. Time enough for my wallet to recover from this round of dolly purchases.

The question now is, will I give Millie a unique name? I had one picked out -- if only I could remember it. I look at her now and all I can think of is Millie. So, Millie it is.